BlackBerry and TCL sign smartphone software and brand licensing deal

BlackBerry and TCL have now officially announced they have entered a long-term licensing agreement wherein BlackBerry will license its security software and service suite, as well as related brand assets to TCL Communication who will design, manufacture, sell and provide customer support for BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. Additionally, TCL will manage all sales and distribution and serve as a global distributor of new BlackBerry-branded mobile devices along with dedicated sales teams.

At TCL Communication, we are committed to creating the best portfolio solutions, while ensuring the quality support to consumers and enterprise users who trust the integrity of the BlackBerry device and the brand's security leadership, coupled with the Android platform, said Nicolas Zibell, CEO of TCL Communication. Together with BlackBerry's smartphone software platform, this partnership will strengthen our position in the global mobile market.

TCL Communication is the natural choice to license BlackBerry's software and brand on a global scale. We successfully partnered with them on the DTEK series of secure smartphones and we've been impressed with their excellence in hardware design, development and manufacturing. With our unparalleled expertise in mobile security and software and TCL Communication's vast global reach and consumer access, we are confident that BlackBerry-branded products developed and distributed by TCL Communication will address the needs of BlackBerry users and expand the availability of BlackBerry Secure products throughout the world.

WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 15, 2016) - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB) and TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited ("TCL Communication") today announced they have entered into a long-term licensing agreement, providing acceleration to BlackBerry's transition into a security software and services company. Under the terms of the agreement, BlackBerry will license its security software and service suite, as well as related brand assets to TCL Communication who will design, manufacture, sell and provide customer support for BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. BlackBerry will continue to control and develop its security and software solutions, serve its customers and maintain trusted BlackBerry security software, while TCL Communication will manage all sales and distribution and serve as a global distributor of new BlackBerry-branded mobile devices along with dedicated sales teams.

As BlackBerry recently announced, it is transitioning its handheld devices strategy to focus on continued software innovation - ultimately providing the most secure and comprehensive software for devices around the world, while working with third parties to develop hardware and distribute and market the BlackBerry handset brand. The agreement with TCL Communication is BlackBerry's first global licensing agreement and expands on its existing relationship, which led to the introduction of the DTEK50 and DTEK60 handsets on Android which deliver the standard of security that customers and partners trust.

"At TCL Communication, we are committed to creating the best portfolio solutions, while ensuring the quality support to consumers and enterprise users who trust the integrity of the BlackBerry device and the brand's security leadership, coupled with the Android platform," said Nicolas Zibell, CEO of TCL Communication. "Together with BlackBerry's smartphone software platform, this partnership will strengthen our position in the global mobile market."

The relationship between TCL Communication and BlackBerry builds upon their respective leadership positions in mobile communications, as well as existing work together on the DTEK50 and DTEK60 handsets. By working with TCL Communication, the fourth largest handset manufacturer in North America and top-10 globally according to IDCi, BlackBerry is ensuring its branded devices will be available around the world.

"This agreement with TCL Communication represents a key step in our strategy to focus on putting the 'smart in the phone' by providing state-of-the-art security and device software on a platform that mobile users prefer and are comfortable with," said Ralph Pini, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Mobility Solutions at BlackBerry. "TCL Communication is the natural choice to license BlackBerry's software and brand on a global scale. We successfully partnered with them on the DTEK series of secure smartphones and we've been impressed with their excellence in hardware design, development and manufacturing. With our unparalleled expertise in mobile security and software and TCL Communication's vast global reach and consumer access, we are confident that BlackBerry-branded products developed and distributed by TCL Communication will address the needs of BlackBerry users and expand the availability of BlackBerry Secure products throughout the world."

TCL Communication will be the exclusive global manufacturer and distributor for all BlackBerry-branded smartphones with the exception of the following countries: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Additional information on the product roadmap and availability of devices will be available in coming months.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a mobile-native security software and services company dedicated to securing the enterprise of things. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company was founded in 1984 and operates in North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

About TCL Communication

TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited (TCT) with its North America headquarters based in Irvine, California, is a wholly owned company of TCL Corporation, a global consumer electronics brand with products currently sold in over 160 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. With a mobile handset product portfolio that includes devices from Alcatel and Blackberry, TCT is currently the fourth largest handset manufacturer in North America. The company also operates nine R&D centers worldwide and employs over 13,500 people globally. For more information, please visit www.TCTUSA.com.

TCL is a registered trademark of TCL Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Alcatel is a trademark of Alcatel-Lucent used under license by TCL Communication.

BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of BlackBerry Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.

This is going to make selling Blackberry phones to governments very difficult. Chinese manufacturers are not known for respecting intellectual property at best. At worst, they have been accused of inserting Spyware on their phones.

remember TCL will be using the BB android software platform, so security is not an issue. And as far as the spyware aspect, dtek software will alert the user. also when the device is booting up it does a self test. If tampering has occurred with the software or hardware, the device will not boot up, and Blackberry will know what is going on.Also Chinese handset makers are gaining market share in NA. So this was good move on Blackberry's part. That having been said they probably won't sell a ton of these devices in the short term, but eventually in the long term they will.

Its probably for the best that Blackberry partners up globaly with only one manufacturer because that means that all phones share design. Though this is the second best solution. The best one would be if Blackberry kept manufacture their own cell phones and focused more on commercials and adverticement on a global scale. If more people knew about Blackberry and their profucts they would garantied sell much more phones. In the country where i live is Blackberry unknown.

If TCL is going to build BlackBerry handsets. And run Android then which part is BlackBerry? Just securing the OS will not be enough to call it a BlackBerry. I need a BlackBerry device even if it's built by TCL but the engine must be BBOS10. When ever I've needed a new phone there was only ever one choice. BlackBerry. If BlackBerry now only build android devices then I'll have more choice. Most manufacturers today offer secure devices anyway. So if it's not BBOS10 then not interested.

They bought Palm years ago and did nothing with the brand. They buy defunct brands and then decide what they're going to do. I'm not holding out hope for BlackBerry. If anything further comes out, it's going be android, BB10 hardware is done. Time to move on.

The deal with TCL is a licence agreement both software and hardware, so TCL will do something, it's in their best interest to sell as many as they can. An agreement has two sides to it, if they don't try to sell i'm sure BB can revoke the agreement. TCL are #4 in China, #5 world wide, so i doubt they can do that by not selling. Also the Palm is a one time fee, so it doesn't matter right now if they are sitting on this phone.

not really Etherco, the price of the DTEK60 will drop by at least $100, making it more affordable and attractive. You would be an ***** not to buy one if your in need of a smartphone, and its the same phone that got stellar reviews. It's not junk.

This is in fact a great news for both BBRY and TCL, and hoping to have latest and greatest most up to date device just like how UMi does - rapid release of flagship like spec phones with latest SoC. As long as future BBRY phone has cool spec (high speed SoC (deca-core) / large Battery Capacity (4000+ mAh) / large RAM (6GB min) / 4K Screen / good camera / all metal uni-body / rapid software update / and ofc good price range - ppl will buy it. I just hope that TCL does a good job for global marketing : which BBRY sucked on BB10 phones. TBH, who does not want to have a solid spec, good build quality, security assured, near Vanilla Android Phone? Like c'mon world, BBRY is back in biz !

It looks like the Merc will be made by TCL, which is a good thing. BTW the DTEK phones must be doing well, other wise TCL would not of signed this deal.Chinese brands have been stealing market share lately, so maybe this will help with sales of the DTEK phones. Also the DTEK phones are Blackberry phones, what part of Licence don't you people understand. Licence means that TCL can put/use BB logo and put "Blackberry" on the phones they sell, as well as they have to use BB (secure) software.. Otherwise why would they get a licence. It costs money you know.

You know, I was not too impressed with DTEK initially. I would also prefer BlackBerry design and build their own hardware. However, both DTEK's had decent reviews and they are hitting the right price points in the market. No one seems to really care they are essentially re-brands of Alacatel products. If they can do the same with Mercury (this TCL deal may be the reason it is even possible) then great. The one thing the DTEK models lack so far is a BlackBerry look and feel. Then again, maybe that was the whole point. Lol.

I expect we will hear more about the TCL deal on the earnings call, but I am pretty sure TCL will be only interested in selling android based phones with the blackberry software package along hardening. Right now I believe TCL is only interested in making touchscreen only phones and are waiting to see how mercury will do before they will comment to making physical keyboard phone. However this more than likely puts an end to slider and passport form factors.

So does this mean TCL is basically the supplier of BlackBerry hardware now? This seems great for TCL (they have no brand recognition here) as maybe they can leverage BB's brand and turn their rep around with good h/w at decent prices.

Noticed that Huawei and ZTE have both taken things up a notch recently, so perhaps this is necessary for TCL to do something. I'm hopeful it means more decent devices (with at least 1 PKB) in the near future.

Now I think we can see the strategy coming together and hopefully it will be communicated well on the street. I might have preferred partnership with LG, HTC, or better, Motorola, but TCL provides less encumbrance. Hopefully it has the sales potential for presence I the market because this is dearly lacking. The one thing I would want would be for BlackBerry to eliminate the distinction of enterprise vs consumer... provide the consumer with end to end security, including financial information.

Ha Ha Ha ... it is a tragicomedy .... how we can speak about privacy when owner can't delete or block proprietary soft and services from google? How we can speak about security if android it is a one big security hole? How we can speak about BlackBerry smartphones when it is a just logo on TLC's glass brick? I'm stay with BlackBerry ten years already and now in my hand last real BlackBerry device, unfortunately, with my passport era BlackBerry will end ...

Still remember that post in a thread about..something about have a friend who knows someone who knows someone else and heard TLC wanted to pull out and that the DTEK deal was really bad..etc...
What a joke of a post..considering totally wrong!
Goes to show you do not believe everything until BlackBerry sings!

Think of BB10 as a different entity all on its own from BlackBerry Android. That's why I think when BlackBerry says they will continue to support BB10 despite hearing nothing but BB Android news, I believe them, because consumers and enterprise still use BlackBerry 10os so even if it is a niche market, it's still there for supply and demand. BlackBerry has positioned it self for its OS to be a niche market while expanding its android portfolio.

Haha! First time I ever voted u down,now u got 2,anyway I just played around with my cousin's Galaxy with Knox and marshmallow and found it pretty good ,I checked out all the BB apps available on it and to tell you the truth it wont be long b4 I jump ship to Android with all the BB love I can get for free,...ads! I know...,but BB will probably make a few bucks from me if they are too intrusive,why buy an acatel phone when another Android could make BB some $ anyways,maybe you feel you must stay loyal to BB buy buying their latest hardware but remember they are a software company now,Go for the best specs in android and use BB Apps,Merry Xmas H :-)

At least BlackBerry keeps on excisting and we have to except that, it is not the BlackBerry from the past as market leader and it's own superior OS.
It is what it is. Enough discussion about that.
So stop that 'first' and 'where is 10.3.3/10.3.4' noncense.

I'm really curious how the DTEK50 and DTEK60 have sold. I haven't seen any in the wild but it's possible some large corporations picked them up. Last quarter they sold 400,000 smartphones. Is it possible the number will be higher come December 20? It's been declining for a while so any increase, even to 450,000 or so, would be positive. Any guesses?

"...consumers and enterprise users who trust the integrity of the BlackBerry device and the brand's security leadership, coupled with the Android platform..." Hmmm, no mention of BB10 devices anywhere. And still no 10.3.3 update to my unlocked Z30!

Sorry, to clarify many Dtek50 are still on Oct 5 patch. This is over 2 months old. This isn't carrier locked devices. Unlocked purchased directly from shop bb. They advertised over and over and over about zero day patching. This was what set them apart from the others. Well not really at all. BTW it isn't just Google phones. I have Samsung in my household and they got the November patch in November. I am just wondering how much worse it will get if TCL takes over. I guess whether it is 2 months overdue or 6 months it doesn't matter anymore at that point.

I wonder what stipulations there are for TCL in future development, and how exactly "selling" is going to work. If I want a DTEK50 or 60, I don't even see mention of it on TCL's website. Right now, it's the "DTEK50/60 by BlackBerry" ... are future phones going to be "by TCL powered by BlackBerry Android OS", and sold straight through them? Also, I imagine that TCL will still produce their own Android phones, but what about future Windows phones? Might be a conflict of interest there.

Love this news. Positive reviews on the whole for DTEK50 and DTEK60, and with BlackBerry no longer committed to in-house design and manufacture of devices, this development will ensure BlackBerry devices continue to roll out for the foreseeable future. Go BlackBerry Go!

I wonder whether this means Blackberry 10 devices will emerge. I wonder if this means additional Blackberry Android devices will emerge. I also further wonder if any devices will emerge with physical keyboards. I also wonder if the licensing includes the Blackberry operating system and Android adaptation or if it also includes the hardware design especially with a thought toward the physical keyboard and capacitive feature witches to my knowledge unique. I would be interested in seeing a physical keyboard phone bearing Blackberry 10 with updated Google Play Store acquisition fee usefulness being enhanced by a subroutine beyond the 4.3 available in the Blackberry 10 devices today. I would be also interested in the concept of offering Blackberry devices with Blackberry 10 or Blackberry Android as a choice on purchase as well as Blackberry devices barring some additional upgrades in hardware and software offerings to and live and especially the Blackberry 10 community. I am also wondering if TCL will be targeting the US market.

That sure is a lot of wondering. I will go ahead and answer a few. BB10 is dead so no more of those devices will be made. BB10 will not and never will work with Google Play Services as BlackBerry screwed things up long ago when they didn't adapt to the market. I use my Z30 for business mostly and it's great for that.

As for bb10, I would wonder if BlackBerry should not either allow existing device owners to root to eventual end of applying an android mod. As for play store, if a bb10 device were made by TCL, a later ART version would do wonders. & would grow longevity. I would gleefully pay to root & apply android to my Passport despite preference for bb10 now dead...

I find it very funny that people refuse to accept reality. BlackBerry has moved on from BB10. Those devices should be on display in a museum.
BlackBerry is clearly focused on enterprise software and Android OS. Just accept it. You're making it harder on yourself.

Really awesome news to hear. Looking toward to some great devices at great prices. Great day for BlackBerry. They can focus on software and deliver top notch security with less fear of losing profit on hardware.

Had a bold, then z10. Lovely phones. Z10 corrupted itself and had no help from BB or network. Took the plunge and bought an iPhone 5s. Good looking phone but iOS not a patch on BB OS.
Sold it 6 months later and went to android.
Been 18 months now. Just got a playbook off eBay to use for emailing and side loading some apks. I am getting a Priv end of Jan and can't wait. BB OS in my opinion was the slickest ever OS.
Unfortunately these days it seems people want to mix it up.
Android isn't too bad , and the Priv is a mix.

Itoys seem to be aiming at anyone who loves gimmicks, Samsung seem to like blowing themselves up !!!

Well, hopefully now that BB can be dedicated to developing their software maybe they can skin Android to have all of the good features of BB10. They already have the swipe up from anywhere, there are just small little details...

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

"At TCL Communication, we are committed to creating the best portfolio solutions, while ensuring the quality support to consumers and enterprise users who trust the integrity of the BlackBerry device and the brand's security leadership, coupled with the Android platform," said Nicolas Zibell, CEO of TCL Communication.

I would say wrong-ish. While BlackBerry keeps telling everyone that they're still committed to BB10, we all know that's a joke. I suspect that every consumer device, moving forward, is going to be Android, and they will keep BB10 alive (for now) for the ultra-secure industries that still need all the certifications.

hopefully, TCL get better with design, material and process, reliability in time in the near future (truly become a high end design house)... make sense to piggy back on the components supplier chain for current volume...
was wish "design in waterloo, Canada", manufacture in TCL, but that not going to happen (hopefully, TCL got some BB DNA in design, or hybrid, like 9982 and 9983). Best of luck.

Jojo, sometimes in landscaping, the folks who poke fun at the Designer or the Yakka crackah, slip on the mud and slide into the pond. When they emerge, they realize poking at those doing their work can lead to muddy pants and sopping shoes.

Although I love my 60, I hope going fwd that tcl does something to differentiate the BlackBerry devices from the tcl950 and alcatel series phones. That was the biggest thing most tried complaining about was the dteks were replicas of those devices despite internal specs being beefed.

I agree the BlackBerry priv actually looked like a Blackberry bc of the logo on the front. The Dtek 60 only had the brand emblem on the back. They need to put Blackberry logo on the front of every device.

For anyone connected to the larger IT industry, hardware has become a commodity. The differentiation is in the software. BlackBerry had the smartphones market in their hands in 2007 and blew it. They are redefining themselves and partnering with TCL makes complete sense. Comments like 'cheap Chinese crap' are ridiculous and show no understanding of the tech marketplace today. Apple manufactures in China and charges over $1000 for a functionally equivalent phone. The DTEK60 is a beautiful piece if technology me better with the BlackBerry suite. BB10 was awesome but it's all about the applications. That's as true for a smartphone as it is for Enterprise systems - it's the applications, that's why you have the phonr.